Not your average holiday decor

This is my favorite time of the year.  White snowflakes.   Silver bells.  Red ribbon.  Green pine trees.   Glimmering snow.  Scented pinecones.   Candles burning and giving off wonderful holiday scents.

When I was in high school, I worked at a little Christmas wreath-making shop.   The owner of the shop wasn’t too much older than me at the time, maybe about ten years.

Every day, I’d watch her turn materials into beautiful wreaths.  I learned how to make gorgeous Christmas bows and how to make a green wreath and make it shine and sparkle with all that Christmas decorations have to offer.

When I would walk into the store, she always had the scent of “pine” in the store.  It came from a candle behind the counter (the customers couldn’t see this, but I loved the smell!)     It really was the perfect job.    I would sit and read a book, smelling pine.

The customers that would come in were always in a good mood because they were coming in looking for Christmas decorations.   To top it off, my Mom would bring me dinner every night when I worked.    (Even my husband ~ boyfriend at the time, in high school, would stop in and visit me and bring me a snack!)   It really was the best job for a high school student.

Ever since working in that shop, I have wanted my home to give me that same feeling- beauty everywhere that you look.  I try to accomplish that with my decorations year-round.

I normally tend to go for a more nautical look: a lot of whites, blues, and sandy beige colors.   Christmas is the time of year where I really like to shine and add a lot of beautiful colors to our house.

The doorway is where it all begins.  It welcomes your family home and it invites your company to come in.   The doorway can be extravagant or it can be simple and beautiful.   {Pinned from hometowngirl.typepad.com}

I decorate our dining room completely.  I have our dining room table set all day long, the kids and I make a centerpiece every year using the scented pinecones that we buy, I even use shimmering red wrapping paper behind the glass in our china cabinet.  I even decorate our chandelier.

This photo, from Havertys Pinterest Board, is beautiful!                     ​

{Pinned from blog.styleestate.com}

I love this mirror from Havertys for the wall- gorgeous!

For the center of the table, I love this candelabra!  Isn’t it beautiful?  It would be such a statement piece to tie all of your other decorations together on the table.   It reminds me of reindeer & winter snow.  I found this at Havertys. 

I also love this centerpiece, found at Havertys:

In our home, we have a gorgeous staircase that lends itself nicely to Christmas garland.

Aren’t these ideas that I found on Pinterest beautiful?

While we hang our stockings on our mantel, we used to hang them from our staircase in our last house (it didn’t have a fireplace).  I loved these ones that I found on Pinterest, as well!

As for the fireplace, I love these little jars to decorate the top of the mantel.

I found this on Havertys Pinterest Board. 

{Pinned from beautifulhome.tumblr.com}

I loved this, too.  It looks easy to make and it is beautiful!

{Pinned from  amybayliss.com}